Locke may annoy some as a play-by-play guy, but the man does his homework. He's also very well connected with a ton of NBA scouts and coaches. I think he bases alot of his opinions off of what he learns from those connections, so these are actually pretty informative videos IMO.
I really like Locke's breakdowns, stats and opinions. But I recogonize he is looking at very paticular and small piece of the overall picture.
I do think the Jazz are making a
big mistake by allowing him to post the breakdowns and critiques of players on the Jazz web-page. A few degrees of seperation should be observed. The blending of David Locke and Utah Jazz sets the stage for potentially embarasing and franchise damaging events in one of three ways.
First, is the pressure put on a player who can see on
www.utahjazz.com that he is lazy, takes too many possesions off and won't make it in the NBA because he jumps off two feet. This is not the opionion of the Utah Jazz but try explaining that to a 19-year old. All he sees is the Utah Jazz all over the webpage. Think he is excited to come in for a workout? How about that first interview on draft night with the Jazz's own play by play voice-David Locke? I'm sure the guy won't hold a grudge and will just sign as a FA in 5 years right?
Second, his rankings, and breakdowns create a potential for disharmony within the Jazz organization. If he says Maynor doesn't have an NBA skill and KOC drafts Maynor the organization is not in harmony, one of them must be wrong. As a consumer of Jazz I am put in a position of choosing between the two. They can't both be right so fire the bum that is wrong. There are enough critics outside the family, why be your own enemy?
Finally, by strongly advocating his opinions to a reading adn listening office, he is building fan support for certain players and turning fan opinions against others. His presentation style is great, very matter of fact, and he can back it up with data. But when he doesn't advocate the player KOC drafts there is a problem. The fans end up booing the #9 pick. I am not suggesting that he be told by KOC who to spin in a favorable light, I'm suggesting that because he works for the Jazz and is posting on thier web-page a slight adjustment to his style would bennifit the organization. It might be better if he were to point out skills and attributes of the potential picks, focusing on how they could help the Jazz. Leave it to other people draw conclusions about this player good that player bad.